Lady Bulldog Netters Succeed In 2005
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Fresh off one of the greatest seasons in school history, which included an SEC
Western Division championship and the school's fourth trip the NCAA Regionals,
the Mississippi State women's tennis team finished the 2004-05 campaign with
the distinction of the being the nation's 30th-ranked tennis team following a 12-8
overall record, 5-6 within the SEC.
MSU's five conference wins were the most since the 1989 campaign and were an all-time high for head coach Tracy Lane
during her nine-year stint at MSU. Her 12 overall wins also succeeded her
previous single-season best of 11, which she set during the 2000 season.
Sophomore Zsuzsanna Fodor completed the season as the nation's 23rd-ranked singles player after becoming the first Lady
Bulldog to reach the second round of the NCAA Singles Championship. Fodor finished the year with a 36-10 overall singles record, breaking
the previous school record of 31 victories, set in 1999-2000 by
Andrea Lord. Fodor finished the spring season with a 16-3 dual match record, 8-3 in the conference, en route to receiving first-team, all-SEC
accolades. During the course of the
year, Fodor was ranked as high as No. 15, while never being ranked below 28th.
Joining Fodor in the final rankings column was Anastasia Kugakolova who wrapped
up her season as the nation's 125th-ranked singles player after completing her
spring campaign with an 11-7 overall mark, 5-6 in the conference.
State's doubles combination of Fodor and Kugakolova finished the season
ranked 20th in the country. Fodor and Kugakolova wrapped up
the campaign with a 23-6 overall record. In dual matches, the
tandem posted a 15-3 mark, 8-3 in the league en route to earning second-team,
all-SEC honors. The duo started the spring season ranked 46th
in the nation and, at one point, were ranked as high as 13th nationally. The two
posted seven consecutive wins over league competition.
Off the court, State also excelled. Five Lady Bulldog earned Academic all-SEC laurels. Fodor and Kugakolova were joined on the league's academic squad by teammates Magdi
Rekasi, Hayley Rudman and Tarryn Rudman. Prior to the postseason, Hayley Rudman was named to the SEC Good
Works Teams for her efforts both on and off the court.
The Intercollegiate Tennis Association's academic awards will be released later this year. State has earned the ITA Team Academic Award in each of the last eight years and has had numerous individuals honored by that organization as well in that time period.